The Legonater

Soren grins as the last of the antennas falls. Easy. Aight tin can, you're next. Max, I'm comin' your way. Soren moves to C3 and fires at Invictus.

Kirwin Coding Check (DC 3) - 5, 4, 5, 1, 1 (Three successes) Kirwin fiddles with the drive, and using his skills, he's able to string together a convincing edit of the original audio track. The door hums for a moment, before unlocking and sliding open. With just a glimpse of what lay beyond, the heroes begin to wonder just what they'd gotten themselves into... The room is dark, illuminated mostly by flickering screens and the light of the nebula beyond. Even more sinewy growths appear scattered around the area, spreading up the walls. In the middle of the bridge, Captain Ilbery paces wildly. He looks deathly pale, and his throat sounds hoarse and hagged as he mutters to himself. In his hand, he waves a gun, pointing it haphazardly across the space like something may appear at any moment. With the arrival of the heroes the weapon points in their direction, his eyes wide. Stop!! Come no closer! I- I will shoot!

Hey Quest #7! I'm prepared to move you guys forward if you're ready, I just don't want to rush you into a decision regarding the one capsule. Seemed like there was good tension going on and I didn't want to interrupt it.

The lock of the bridge door blinks red. As the pair approach it, a computerized voice rings out. <Lockdown Measures Implemented. Only [Bridge Staff] may enter. [Bridge Staff] this shift entails: [Captain Edward Ilbery] [Head Pilot Jason Dunn] [Asssitant Pilot Jane Irving] [Bridge Engineer Alexi Larson] [Bridge Engineer Jim Noble] [Comms Officer Greg R. Wood]. If you are part of this shift's [Bridge Staff] please supply vocal confirmation. If you are not part of this shift's [Bridge Staff], please return to your designated station. Thank you!>

Kirwin pockets the capsules for both the gem and the flower, storing them in his equipment bag for safe-keeping. Looking up and down the corridor, Merei remembers that the path to Engineering has also been rendered inaccessible by the debris. Turning back the other direction, she face the doorway to the bridge, still very much locked and awaiting user access.

Nah, I'm fighting jus' to have somethin' to do, personally. Aight, we've got almos' got these antennas down. Glenn, come take down A with me, Max, keep firing on B. 'Can't guarantee we'll pull down either this round, but we're guaranteed to take 'em down the next. Valesia, what can you do against our muderbot here? Soren moves to C2 and fires on Antenna A.

MM Note: No worries, congratulations! Merei Perception Check (DC 1) - 3, 5, 4 (Two successes) To Merei's surprise, the capsule is an industrial scientific grade, and is quite secure in and of itself. She notes the capsule that had fallen on the ground and can't even find a crack in its glass, and moreover that the creature had been unable to escape. They could presumably break the capsule if they desired, but it was not likely to happen by accident.

I learned it by watching you! For real though, I'm super glad you guys are enjoying it so much. I'm already excited to talk more about it in detail when it eventually wraps up!

Damn, he's honest about one thing I'lll give him that. Soren limps to E3 and fires on Antenna C. 'Quick suggestion; Glenn and I are practically guaranteed to take down this Antenna by ourselves. Max should move forward and start taking on one of the rear antennas. Glenn and Soren both have an auto +4 to hit the antenna, leading to a +8 total before even factoring our rolls. There's a chance we screw up and can't get two successes in four rolls, but it's unlikely and fairly easy to recover from.

Merei Religion Check (DC 1) - 2, 3, 2, 6 (One success) The Celestial reaches inside herself and accesses the fundamental forces under which she was born. Her skin takes on a more active glow, adding a touch more light to the room. Zaria Perception Check (DC 1) - 5, 1, 3 (One success) As far as Zaria can tell, the capsules match with what was described in the recordings. On the ground appears to be a gleaming gem, mostly clear with flecks of an amber hue. On the shelf, to the right, is an intricate flower coloured a deep red. In the capsule beside the flower, however, is a more gooey, rust-coloured liquid substance. It crawls up the surface of the capsule, and in its middle is a bright, glowing red space that seems to follow Zaria's movements. The moment that Merei lights up, the substance reacts, throwing itself against the opposite wall of the capsule. The container shakes a little in response, before holding still.

Sounds good to me. Soren moves to D5 and fires at Antenna D. Maybe if Glenn finds a weak spot we can take thing down right now...

I definitely should have taken into account that this would be an Endgame boss when Soren was making his decision, but somehow that totally slipped my mind.

What in the stars, Soren muttered, immediately wishing he'd followed his instincts and left the thing well enough alone. Mmkay, there's a couple ways we can go about this. I say we try and clear out some of these antennae; putting any one of 'em down is gonna be a bit of concerted effort, but it'll make dealing with this hunk of bolts much easier. 'Lternatively we can try an' strafe the static charges and put all our work into securing Invictus, but stars, even doing that will take a heap of trouble. I think splittin' our attention is a bad idea for the moment, either way. We should try an' focus on one thing.

This computer is a little more responsive, and quickly opens up the first recording. "<08/23|0230> [Professional Catalogue: Dr. Linda Greenlaw]" Given all the recent commotion with that Carpathia fellow, I have elected it necessary to catalogue the more prized materials of our shipment, especially any I deem of scientific benefit. Mortizar’s private shipments are of particular interest to me. I, alas, could not gain access to all of Mortizar’s containers, and not everything could come with me through the decontamination gate. But, I have enough items to begin a catalogue, and I am sure we will have plenty of time here to work through the rest of it. So! First of all, we have here a deep, multi-faceted crystal forged in the pressure from the Nendaran Gate Collapse. Exceptionally rare, quite exquisite! I might reckon, due to the unique conditions, a gem such as this rates even higher than diamond in terms of hardness and toughness and the like. I would estimate its yield strength approaches approximately 180 GPa. Quite impressive! A beeping sounds in the original recording, suggesting an emergency battery state. If Greenlaw notices, she doesn’t much seem to care, absorbed in her findings. Next, we have a dazzling flower picked from the far depths of the Republic of Kossia. Classification is difficult as it is of no genera that I am aware of, at least, nothing in our public records. Now, aside from the striking deep carnelian colour, giving it an obvious aesthetic purpose, I imagine this particular plant has some medicinal value. Of course, to be certain I would- The video and audio abruptly cuts off, the rest of the footage presumably lost to a dead battery. There is a pause as the computer shuffles to the next recording. "Playing <08/28|1632> [Personal Recording: Dr. Linda Greenlaw]" I was able to recover some of the material found where Bugsy was knocked unconscious, and I brought it to my lab!! I’m dubbing it GL-7743, and I’ve spent all day running tests on it. It’s a shy little substance, especially around the presence of fire. It also appears to be subliminally intelligent on some level, which is fascinating! From my tests, it seems to respond to primal urges, though nothing too complex. I have never seen its equal! Where did it come from?? The nebula maybe! I imagine you’d have to be quite the hardy specimen to survive out in the wilds of space! In any case, I intend to return tomorrow and see if I can find any more samples for research! There could be some sort of breakthrough here. "Playing <09/07|1323> [Incoming Interior Message: Dr Jamie C. Luce]" Damnit, Linda, it’s been a week, where are you? What happened in there? I think you were right about all of this… I can’t sit on my rear anymore. If only you could’ve heard what Ilbery just ordered… I’m making a move. Somebody has to. I've already been able to find a way around the vocal locks with a little bit of resourcefulness and some tips from Engineer Worley - it's amazing what you can do with technology these days. I hope you’re still out there, Linda. I'm coming to find you next. The screen goes blank, returning to its original message.

Rummaging through the drawers, Zaria stumbles upon an Aether Brew. Kirwin finds a similar startup message plastered on the screen. NOTICE: The system has undergone an unscheduled shut-down. Ship-wide communications now operating on backup power! As standard procedure, the last 3 recorded messages have been stored in backup files. Here are your messages: <08/23|0230> [Professional Catalogue: Dr. Linda Greenlaw] <08/28|1632> [Personal Recording: Dr. Linda Greenlaw] <09/07|1323> [Incoming Interior Message: Dr Jamie C. Luce] Would you like to play back recordings? Merei Perception Check (DC 1) - 4, 5, 3 (Two successes) There does not appear to have been any violence in this room that Merei can find. Looking through the scientific research, she stumbles on an Essence of Precaution.

Upon opening the door, Merei finds a room empty of either friend or foe. The science lab appears to be a cluttered mess, a mess that has been done no favours by the turbulent forces of the gravity storms outside. A few beakers and test tubes lay around the area, as well as a few capsules containing scientific findings and research. Another computer from Greenlaw's personal desk appears to be active. Luckily, there are no bodies to be found in this lab.

I'll take whatever is left. Armour would be nice but I won't be able to equip it for a solid quest or so.

The problem is that Soren is a dick Soren's always going to take when he interprets as the path of least resistance which keeps putting him at odds with people. But then the path of least resistance usually becomes giving up and falling in line, so (hopefully!) he never actually becomes a party obstacle.

I've definitely been enjoying it!

Hardly forging a middle ground, don'tchya think? Soren muttered, eyes glancing back and forth between Invictus and Valesia. He wasn't sure how much he was cozy with the Cladrasith's bigotry coming out as she put the bot on death row, but Invictus wasn't exactly making matters easier. This whole situation was just a waste of time, all they were doing was putting Invictus down a body. None of this mattered. But if it made the damn Undead sit any easier and get them a paycheque, he supposed that was something. Following in Valesia's footsteps, Soren breathed in an icy cold breath of air, clearing his mind and meditating. Gotta make this one quick. Soren eyed Invictus again and levelled his gun at the robot, a weary expression on his face. I s'pose we're doin' this.

Are we really any different? Look, 'Victus, you can't remain in the shadows forever. Clearly. We had employers and ran into a lot more folks than just you; if we go missing, they'll ask questions, and follow the trail back to you. Violence is gonna be a waste of everyone's time. The way I see it, you can either try an' kill and fail, or, you can go quietly with us and find some semblance of justice. But lettin' ya go is just going to prolong the inevitable, for everyone. It's time to make some real steps here.

But why. To what end. That's what I don't get about all of this. What does a piece of code have to gain from killing people? Either it's sentient and may have changed, or there's someone else behind this. Either way, the death penalty is pretty damn final, and we might want this thing around for answers. And you think killing a shell is going to bring your justice, old man? You're aiming to kill a ghost, there's no peace in this. 'Say we let the world know Invictus is here, and that we killed but a copy of him. Everyone's gonna go into a hizzy over it. Mass hysteria. We accomplish nothing but tell everyone the boogyman is still out there. Best case scenario, we arrest him, and you lot on Corvanis can question him and see how genuine he's being. If y'all believe him, great, you let him go. If not, at least you have this model and can track down a source or somethin'. I just see no point in trying to kill a weapons module if it's not actually going to accomplish anything.

The heroes head back up the starboard corridor. This side of the ship appears to be, if nothing else, holding together better. No debris blocks their path, just the creeping isolation of the derelict freighter. Sure enough, on their left they find the science lab, apparently free to access. The doorway to the bridge is, however, closed, with an electronic lock on the front. Do the heroes continue into the science lab?

Colour me shocked that someone as long-lived as yourself believes people can't change. I can't imagine you spent the last one hundred years doling out candy, did you? Soren glances back at Invictus, trying to gain insight as to how honest it was being. Glenn said no one knew for certain whether Invictus was sapient. Is this thing a robot, or a person, Valesia? If it's a bot, then it's hardly responsible for its actions. Someone ought to take it into holding, interrogate it, find out who built it and why, the works. If Invictus is a person, well, that means he has... y'know, personhood. Which, again, means he can change. And it means he has responsibilities, rights and shit. Which means we can't just give him a private execution just 'cause we decide to. But again, none of this is our responsibility anyways. Glenn knows this damn place, he and Invictus ought to hash it out, come to a middle ground. If Glenn wants to kill the thing, then whatever. But if Invictus can convince him that it - he, whatever - has changed, well, I think that's somethin', isn't it?

Soren cast an eye to Valesia, a little taken aback by her hostility. 'Nd do you think we have the right to determine that? 'Not sure the death sentence is a thing I'm a big fan of, personally. The machine don't seem particularly interested in further bloodshed, maybe it's had a turn of... heart? Look, I ain't got much care in jumping into a fight we don't need to jump into. If my friend here wants to blow you head to spare parts, I have no issues with that. But if the muderbot has become a poet, I don't see a point in turning it to scrap. We've done our job, we've figured out the source of the transmissions. We ain't frying Percy, that's for sure, but we can convince him that he's fulfilled his duty and we can all go our merry way. 'Fact is, Invictus is right - none of this is really our business, and we have no stake here. 'Not sure we should be the ones make sweeping decisions for 'em.